fghtffyrdmns

Hi everyone!

I only started sewing/quilting a few weeks ago and I really need advice on what to do! I'm working on this quilt:

http://www.quiltersclubofamerica.com.../p/231047.aspx
http://www.davidtextilesinc.com/uplo...0A%20Dream.pdf

I finally finished my blocks today and need to start sewing them together. According to the pattern, they are suppose to be 15 1/2 inches big. I measured some of mine, and most of them are at 15, some a little more, some a little less. Should I make all my blocks the same size before I start sewing them together? Do I make them match the smallest size block I have? I guess my worry would be that if I do make them all the same size, the pink cornerstones on some of my blocks won't be the same size, making it look funny. Any advice or help would definitely be appreciated because I'm not meeting with my group for another 2 weeks or so and I don't want to wait that long to keep going

Prism99

Try blocking them all to the same size using pins, spray starch, and an iron. Sharon Schamber has some videos on Youtube about how to do this. Here are links to some of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6aplw_tVZc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIjZqABo2NY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-3RIWhBvcA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQkF02vpVuw

spokanequilter

You will want them to all be the same size or the whole quilt might look a little wonky. The difference is probably that your seams may not be exactly 1/4 inch or a tad less, or the seams haven't been pressed open correctly, or the pieces were cut inaccurately, or whatever. This was the hardest thing for me when I started quilting... mastering the 1/4 inch seam - or better a scant 1/4 inch seam. I still often have blocks that are not exactly the same size. I try to keep it within an 1/8 of an inch or less. Anyway, it looks like you will probably be able to square the blocks up. If there is only a 1/4 inch or less difference, you can ease the difference by sewing the seam with the side that is a bit longer on the bottom. That way the feed dogs will help pick up the extra. It looks from the photo of the quilt like you could adjust the cornerstone size a bit if necessary. Good luck with this pretty quilt!!

Jingle

They need to be as close to the same size as you can get them so they will nest together at the intersections. I hope it turns out the way you want. You could check your seam allowances and make sure all are the size they should be, redo any that is off. A bit of a pain but would be worth it in the long run.

MadQuilter

The simple answer is that YES, they need to be close to the same size or they won't fit together correctly.

I would measure all of the blocks and sort them into 3 batches: exactly right, smaller and larger. Then I would check the seams of the ones that are off. Are the seams too small or too large?

If the difference is just a little, then I would steam press the smaller blocks into shape to block them (as has already been suggested). For the larger blocks, I would take them apart and take a slightly larger seam. You already realized that cutting them would distort the corner blocks.

Good luck and don't give up.

fghtffyrdmns

Thank you for the advice ladies!! I'll see what I can do!